Turned shoe process



C. MILLER TURNED sacs PROCESS Sept. 25, 1934.

Filed May 22. 1931 INVENTOR CHARLES MILLER BY a la M ATTORNEY PatentedSept. 25, 1934 ATENT OFFICE 1,974,720 7 TURNED snoE rnoonss CharlesMiller, Long Island City, N. Y. Application May 22, 1931, Serial No.559,187 2 Claims. (o1. m -142) This invention relates to the shoe artand deals more specifically with a method and means for making turnedshoes.

In accordance with the present day practice of 5 making turned shoes,the shoe including the upper and sole is assembled inside out on thefirst last. The last is then withdrawn, the shoe is turned rightsideout, and then it is relasted. The rlasting operation as now practicedinvolves a numlll ber of difiicult and time consuming steps which areperformed by the shoemaker. These steps in the method not only addconsiderably to the cost of the shoe but also involve the inherentdisadvantage that the work of one shoemaker varies "1 5 from that ofanother; and even one shoe is often related differently from the next bythe same shoemaker. This, of course, results in non-uniiormity in theproduct which is highly undesirable.

Moreover, in the turn process, a shank piece having a metallic stiffeneris employed at the shank of the'shoe. tial to pull down the shank pieceto the last as completely as possible, in order to produce well fittingshoes. Under the present practice the last is placed upon a jack; aleather saddle placed over the shank, the saddle having a rope attachedthereto which is tied to a foot treadle, by means of which the shoemakerapplies a pressure to the shank to pull the same into position; andfinally,

the various smoothing and finishing steps of the relasting operation areperformed. Obviously, the force exerted upon the shank by means of thesaddle and rope method now used, varies from shoe to shoe, with theresult that the fit oi the shank portion to the last variessubstantially.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method ofrelasting shoes which is simple, inexpensive, and more rapid inoperation.

Further, it is an object of this invention to provide a method ofrelasting shoes which eliminates certain hand operations now necessary.

And it is a further object of this inventionto 34 1.; provide a methodof relasting shoes which insures a better fitting and more uniformproduct.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method ofrelasting in which the fit of the shank piece is more uniform, and alsothe step of conforming the same to the last is simplified.

These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which: 55%- Fig. 1 is aside elevation, partly in section, of

In the relasting it is essen an apparatus used in carrying out thepresent invention; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2--2 of Fig.1.

In accordance with the present invention, the upper and sole areassembled and lasted as is common under the usual practice now used inthe well known commercial process of making turned shoes. The presentinvention applies specifically to the second lasting or re-lastingoperation. After the first last is withdrawn the counter and shank pieceare assembled in the shoe and a second last inserted. The shank pieceused consists of a leather member which extends from the heel to theball line of the shoe, and to which member is attached a steelstiiiener. The second last is now inserted and the shoe placed in themolding apparatus shown in the drawing. The molding apparatus not onlypulls the shank member snugly against the last, but also the sideportions of the mold frictionally engage the upper material and pull andsmooth the same so that the shoe is perfectly relasted without undulystraining the parts of the shoe and with a minimum of effort on the partof the shoemaker. I have found in'practice that the use of the moldingapparatus as heretofore described eliminates many separate tedious andtime consuming operations of the relasting process, and the resultingproduct is more uniform and of better fit.

Following the ioregoing operaticn, the shoe is finished in the usualmanner.

The molding apparatus will now be described in detail. Referring to thedrawing, this apparatus comprises a support 10, upon which is mounted apneumatic pad 11 of a yieldable material shaped on its surface 12 to thecontour of a shoe with the heel removed. The side portions 13 of the padextend upwardly and inwardly (Fig. 2) to contact with the shoe upperwhen the same is in the mold. A pipe 14 and valve 15 is provided toconduct the fluid which fills the pad 11.

A bracket 16 having a heel brace 17 and toe brace 18 is pivotallycarried by the lever 19 which is pivotally hinged to the standard 20. Aflat spring 21 fixed to the standard 20 engages the under side of thelever 19 to prevent the same from dropping under its own weight, whenthe apparatus is not in use. The forward end of the lever 19 is providedwith an eye 22 to which is coupled a tension rod 23. A rear standard 24having a slot 25 in which the lever moves vertically is provided tosteady the latter. A base member 30 is provided with a support 31 towhich is pivoted the treadle 32. A forward standard 33, having ratchetteeth 34 is arranged to permit the foot treadle to be locked in place.The rod 23 is coupled to the treadle at 35.

It will be understood that a downward and slightly sidewise motion isnecessary to release the treadle once the same is locked in place forthe purpose of exerting a pressure upon the shoe in the mold.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In the art of manufacturing turned leather shoes, the steps ofassembling a shoe on a last, withdrawing the last, turning the shoe,inserting another last, then placing the lasted shoe in a pneumatic moldhaving a portion engaging the bottom of the shoe and inwardly curvedside shoe-upper engaging portions around said bottom-engaging portion,and exerting pressure on the shoe against the sole engaging portion ofthe mold to cause the side engaging portions of the mold to grip andwipe the sides of the shoe upper to smooth the latter.

2. In the art of manufacturing turned leather shoes, the steps ofsecuring an outsole to the upper wrong side out, turning the shoe,inserting a shank stiffener, inserting a last, placing the lasted shoein a pneumatic mold having a portion engaging the bottom of the shoe andinward- 1y curved side upper engaging portions around saidbottom-engaging portion, and exerting pressure on the shoe against thesole engaging portion of the mold to force the shank stifiener againstthe last, to mold the outsole, and to cause the side engaging portionsof the mold to grip and wipe the sides of the shoe upper to smooth, thelatter.

CHARLES MILLER.

